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The brutal media critique of swimmer Liesel Jones on the eve of the Olympics was typical of society's tendency to chew up and spit out its heroes once it deems them to be no longer useful. If it dented her confidence, Jones may have taken strength from Australia's first ever international sports champion.
The fact the Queen is a very nice lady doesn't negate her inherited privilege, her arbitrary powers, and the fact her reign isolates many Australians. There is a myth that Australia is a larrikin nation. But we are a nation not of provocateurs, but of conformists.
In the Olympics, the countries with the biggest populations win the most medals. Not in the World Cup. The United States' underdog status is one of the unifying pleasures of football fans around the world.
The Winter Olympics make for beautiful television — skiers hurtling down the slopes, snowboarders doing somersaults in the air, skaters dancing on the ice. Yet they occupy an unusual place in our imagination. They feel more like recreation than competitive sport.
When western campaigners used the Beijing Olympics to promote the Tibet issue, the Chinese felt the attention was sensationalist and unfair. So it's no surprise the Chinese media took notice when violence against foreign students in Australia came to prominence.
A business-friendly carbon emissions reduction scheme is an oxymoron. The draconian action which the Government must take will lead to further unemployment and short-term damage to the fabric of society. But there is no choice.
Provocation by the US and the Saakashvili government has realigned the balance of power between Russia and the West. The Georgia conflict is the most important event in East-West relations since the fall of Soviet Communism.
Politics is never far from the surface at the Olympics. Even at the so-called friendly Games in Melbourne in 1956, the famous 'Blood in the Water' water-polo match reflected tensions surrounding the Soviet invasion of Hungary ten days before.
The internet was once touted as a force for democracy. China has successfully turned this threat to its own advantage, and could show the way to other totalitarian nations.
The torch relay protests unexpectedly strengthened aggressive nationalism, as the Chinese people swung behind the government and its Olympic aspirations. Sport and politics will combine in weeks to come, making for interesting viewing.
Events such as the National Apology and the Northern Territory Intervention loom large in the collective memory. Many of the struggles faced by early 20th century activist Fred Maynard regarding the protection of Indigenous rights remain with us today.
Many of those present at the weekend's 2020 Summit struggled with understanding the difference between ideas, policies, visions, aspirations and general directions. The more hard-headed were probably disappointed, just as the others were obviously delighted by the vision statements.
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